If you are only going to place 2 or 3 orders with a supplier, the key sourcing criteria will probably be quality, price, past production of similar products, and understanding of compliance requirements.
However, if you are looking for a manufacturer you'll work with for 5+ years, you need to look at how they can ensure that the operations in their factory improve. If they are stuck in old ways, they might not be able to support your evolving needs... and, more worrisome, they will probably … [Read more...]

There are basically 3 types of steel that are used when it comes to product manufacturing:
Carbon Steel
Alloy Steel
Stainless Steel
Each of these types of steel has a variety of grades that comprise of different amounts of iron and carbon (the basic elements of steel) and additional alloys.
When selecting the right metal for your job, there are several factors that you need to consider:
Hardness– capacity to resist abrasion, but also difficulty in being cut or drilled … [Read more...]

I had a good discussion with a client whose background was in auditing for a Big Four accounting firm. He pointed that audits, in that context, is mostly about looking at what happened in the past.
In contrast, when buyers request factory audits, the purpose is:
To identify risks by pointing to gaps that might have a serious impact on business performance (and to avoid giving much business to a high-risk supplier)
By making the most serious gaps obvious, to put pressure on the … [Read more...]

A few months back, I wrote about how some buyers can no longer put up with their suppliers' quality issues. And I often lament on the poor state of quality systems here.
In this article I'd like to mention the other enormous source of frustration for foreign buyers: the high minimum order quantities (MOQs) and the long lead times.
High MOQs and long lead times are tightly linked
They come from the same underlying issue: the "big batch & long queue" mentality.
Industrial engineers, as … [Read more...]

About 6 months ago, I wrote how Chinese fabric suppliers and dyeing houses were giving headaches to the whole supply chain.
It had a serious impact on Chinese apparel suppliers (many delays, higher costs, higher MOQs for fabric...).
And, in turn, those suppliers got more rigid when dealing with their oversea customers. The attitude was "that's the way it is and we can't make miracles, so just get in line".
That's actually an overall trend, in many industries, from what I have heard. And … [Read more...]

You have a new product idea. You might also have committed customers. What is between you and success? A successfully-produced first batch of your new product.
If you haven't developed new products and had them manufactured in China before, you will probably find the process difficult and frustrating.
Unfortunately, there can be a number of prototyping iterations, difficulties in finding the right manufacturer and/or components, some solid work on setting production & testing … [Read more...]

Hardly a week goes by without someone asking me for contacts of "good factories". We see so many of them, the thinking goes, surely we know a few good ones.
When we did a few trade shows in Hong Kong, 7-8 years ago, it came up roughly every 30 minutes.
Why wouldn't we do that? For several reasons.
1. Confidentiality
The short answer is "we promise confidentiality to our clients, therefore we can't share what we have learned when working for one client with another client".
Some people … [Read more...]

More and more companies work with Chinese manufacturers on new product developments. And, in most cases, things don't turn out the way customers want.
I thought I'd highlight the most common product launch pitfalls I have observed for electrical and/or mechanical products.
1. Thinking that "the factory is an expert in manufacturing and all will be good"
We have run into many people who think this way. This is typical among companies that essentially do trading (buy and then resell without … [Read more...]

The sad truth in China is, 5% of the manufacturers are doing a good job consistently, and the rest have ups & downs that irritate and frighten Western customers.
And, of those 5% that do a good job consistently, 0.5% do so because of good systems and the other 4.5% do so because operations are not very complex and management watches what happens carefully.
Yes, I made these numbers up. But that's my impression after 12 years spent working here across multiple sectors (from apparel to … [Read more...]

Michael Michelini wrote about Amazon packaging, and he mentioned the FBA prep services. I discovered a whole industry popped up and is probably growing fast.
What do they do? In Mike's words:
Basically, a third-party prep service does everything on your behalf, including:
Inspect your items to ensure there is no damage, especially if you’re selling “new” products.
Carefully remove any stickers from the products, if there are any.
Prepare the inventory according to … [Read more...]

Quality Inspections & Supply Chain Management in China

This blog is written by Renaud Anjoran, an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer who has been involved in Chinese manufacturing since 2005.
Renaud's company performs factory audits/evaluations, product QC inspections, and factory process improvements.